PC | PC gaming topped $13 billion in 2009 - Report

Study finds worldwide retail, downloadable, and advertising revenues for computer games up 3 percent; retail now less than 20% of PC market.

Last year was a rough one for the gaming industry as a whole, with market research firm The NPD Group finding that the US retail sector's total gaming revenues for 2009 slipped 8 percent year-over-year. Despite that, the PC Gaming Alliance today is saying that its own corner of the market not only weathered the storm, but managed to grow in the process.

PC gaming dying? To the contrary, says a group of companies with considerable financial investments in the platform.

The trade group today--whose stated mission is "to develop and promote solutions that drive the PC gaming industry forward"--released a report prepared by DFC Intelligence that found worldwide PC gaming software revenues were up 3 percent for the year to $13.1 billion. Besides retail, that includes downloadable sales, subscription and microtransaction fees, and online advertising, none of which is included in the NPD numbers.

Despite pointing to overall growth, the report did find that some aspects of the industry suffered last year. Specifically, "high-end" subscription revenues ($10 a month or more) were down, blamed on a combination of fewer major releases using the scheme and more players cancelling their accounts to older games.

Boxed retail revenues took the biggest hit, as the traditional distribution method now accounts for less then 20 percent of total PC game software revenues. In North America and Europe, the PC Gaming Alliance found that retail game sales were generally down between 10-15 percent for the year.

The report also found consumers growing more comfortable with the notion of buying their games online. More than 70 percent of North American and European players surveyed said they had purchased a game online, with 50 percent having purchased a virtual item in a game.

The PC Gaming Alliance boasts a number of heavy hitters in the sector, including Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Epic Games, and Capcom. Last year was a busy one for the group, as it saw the departure of Activision Blizzard, but welcomed eight other partners including Gas Powered Games and GameStop.

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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6253286.html